Stewart Skipping Nascar Was Best, Crisis Manager Says

Tony Stewart sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York, on August 8, 2014. Photographer: Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Tony Stewart’s about-face decision
to skip yesterday’s Nascar race a day after his car struck and
killed a fellow driver in a sprint car event was the right thing
to do, according to a crisis manager.

“The worst thing he could have done was gone on as
business as usual,” said David Johnson, chief executive of
Suwanee, Georgia-based public relations firm Strategic Vision
LLC. “That would have caused sponsors to begin questioning
because that’s not the image they want to give. From a crisis
standpoint, his team is probably working with Nascar and
sponsors on how he’s going to address this personally.”

Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup Series champion --
Nascar’s highest echelon of racing -- initially planned to
compete in yesterday’s Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen
International in Watkins Glen, New York, after the accident. He
later pulled out of the race, saying there “aren’t words to
describe the sadness I feel” about the death of 20-year-old
Kevin Ward Jr.

Stewart also won’t compete as planned in a Aug. 16 dirt
track race in Indiana, the Plymouth Speedway announced today on
its website. It’s not yet known if he’ll race in Nascar’s Aug.
17 Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

“The decision to compete in this weekend’s Nascar Sprint
Cup Series event at Michigan will be Tony’s, and he will have as
much time as he needs to make that decision,” Stewart-Haas
spokesman Mike Arning said in an e-mail. “It is still an
emotional time for all involved, Tony included. He is grieving,
and grief doesn’t have a timetable.”

Struck on Track

Ward was killed when Stewart’s car struck him as he walked
on the dimly lit dirt track during a race at Canandaigua
Motorsports Park, which is about 100 miles northeast of Watkins
Glen. Stewart’s car bumped Ward’s car into the wall on the
previous lap and video images showed Ward getting out of his car
and then gesturing at Stewart before he was struck.

No criminal charges are pending against Stewart, 43, and
the fatality is an on-track investigation, according to Ontario
County, New York, Sheriff Philip Povero. Stewart has cooperated
with investigators and was “visibly shaken” by the incident,
Povero told reporters.

“As in any death investigation, we are going to sit down
with the district attorney and his staff and review it when the
investigation is complete,” Povero said.

Ward’s Death

The incident occurred 14 laps into the 25-lap race, with
Ward losing control of his winged sprint car and hitting the
track’s outside retaining wall after the contact with Stewart’s
car. Ward, who was wearing a black helmet and firesuit,
unbuckled himself, walked onto the dirt track and gestured at
approaching cars, including Stewart’s.

As two cars approached Ward, the first “swerved to avoid
the driver out on the track,” according to a sheriff’s
department statement, and the second car, driven by Stewart,
struck Ward. Video showed Ward went under Stewart’s car and was
then thrown into the air before landing motionless on his back
on the track. Ward was pronounced dead at a local hospital about
45 minutes after the incident, police said.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends,
and fellow competitors of Kevin Ward Jr.,” Nascar said in a
statement. “We will continue to respect the process and
timeline of the local authorities and will continue to monitor
this situation moving forward.”

Nascar, Sponsors

Nascar also said it supported Stewart’s decision to skip
yesterday’s Sprint Cup race, in which he was replaced by Regan
Smith for the Stewart-Haas Racing team.

Bass Pro Shops, which sponsors Stewart’s No. 14 car in the
Sprint Cup Series, said in a statement that it was “deeply
saddened” by the accident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. “We
send our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of
sprint car competitor Kevin Ward Jr. and also to Tony Stewart
and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing,” the company said
yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

Stewart is the co-owner of the Stewart-Haas team, which
also fields Sprint Cup cars for Danica Patrick, Kevin Harvick
and Kurt Busch. Stewart’s sponsors also include Exxon Mobil
Corp., General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet, Coca-Cola Co. and
Luxottica Group SpA’s Oakley, according to his website, and his
annual earnings are estimated by Forbes at $12.5 million.

“It was a tragedy,” Busch said after finishing third
yesterday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody
involved. It’s a tough situation for the motorsports world.”

What’s Next?

Johnson, whose firm has represented Grand-Am Road Racing
drivers in their sponsorships, said there’s probably a behind-the-scenes tussle going on between Stewart’s legal team and
public relations team on how to handle the situation.

“Even though the sheriff said it doesn’t look like
criminal charges, the legal team wants to wait until after the
investigation is fully out and he’s been cleared,” Johnson said
by phone. “They’re also thinking about any kind of lawsuits
down the road, any type of liability. The crisis team is also
working on how to reach out to Ward’s family from Stewart, how
to get him out in front and express emotion, some sympathy for
the family without acknowledging any kind of liability.”

Stewart’s team probably consulted his sponsors and Nascar
officials about how he should personally address Ward’s death,
according to Johnson.

“They’re probably debating whether he goes out in front of
cameras, if he does a one-on-one interview, does he do something
to reach out personally to Ward’s family,” he said.

Short Track

While Stewart is a team owner and one of the top drivers on
Nascar’s top tier, he schedules numerous short track events
every year. The Aug. 9 incident came about a year after Stewart
broke two bones in his lower right leg when he crashed in a dirt
track race in Oskaloosa, Iowa, costing him the second half of
the Nascar season. Stewart was also involved in a 15-car pileup
in a short track race on July 2013 in Canandaigua that left a
19-year-old female driver seriously injured.

The Ontario County Sheriff’s office said it’s seeking
amateur video of the events that led to Ward’s death and will
continue to interview witnesses.

“We’re trying to analyze video that we have as
meticulously as possible,” Povero said. “We’ll also rely on
evidence that has been gathered through the results of an
autopsy. And again I want to clearly state that Mr. Stewart has
been fully cooperative. He is extremely upset with this crash
and has confirmed his continued cooperation.”